House of Cards

Starring:Kathleen Turner, Tommy Lee Jones
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
KATHLEEN TURNER (The War of the Roses and Romancing the Stone) and TOMMY LEE JONES (The Fugitive and JFK) star in this powerful story of a mother's devotion that will open your mind and touch your heart.

When Ruth Matthews (Turner) finds that her young daughter has withdrawn from reality, she and a well-meaning doctor (Jones) struggle to come to the aid of the child. But when conventional science appears unable to reach the little girl, Ruth embarks on a journey within herself to unlock the mysteries that hold her daughter captive in this passionate and heartrending tale of a mother's love and a family's determination to heal.

System Requirements:

Running Time 92 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

House of Cards Trilogy (House of Cards / To Play the King / The Final Cut)

Average customer rating:

House of Cards trilogy
A great trilogy! You MUST have it!
A 10+
House of Cards Trilogy
A spellbinding tale of despondancy

House of Cards Trilogy (House of Cards / To Play the King / The Final Cut)
Starring: Ian Richardson , Susannah Harker , Miles Anderson , David Lyon , and Malcolm Tierney
Director: Paul Seed , and Mike Vardy
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009MGGI
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Amazon.com

Connoisseurs of political chicanery will relish House of Cards, the mordantly funny story of Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson), a British politician with his eye on the top job. Urquhart is the chief whip of the Conservative Party and his job is to maintain party discipline, or, as he likes to say, "put a bit of stick about." This means that he has intimate knowledge of his colleagues' foibles, knowledge that he uses to further his own political ambitions. Aided by his equally ruthless wife and drawing on a network of accomplices, Urquhart forces the prime minister to resign then sets out to discredit each of his rivals for the party leadership. Although it is strongly cast throughout, House of Cards belongs to Ian Richardson. Without his perfectly balanced performance, Urquhart might have become no more than a two-dimensional villain, but Richardson finds exactly the right tone to make his character as attractive as he is wicked. Thanks to Richardson, and a superb script by Andrew Davies, this brilliant political satire is sure to delight anyone who has wondered what might be going on in the darker corners of our democratic institutions.

In To Play the King, Urquhart appears to have everything he wants. He is the prime minister, he has no immediate rivals, and everyone who knows of his crimes is either on his side or dead. But a new challenge arises when the queen dies and the new king (Michael Kitchen doing a perfect Prince Charles) proves to be a thorn in Urquhart's side. Urquhart may be a staunch defender of the monarchy as a concept, but an individual sovereign is fair game if he proves to be a threat. With a Davies script that pokes fun at British politics and the antics of the royal family as well as a terrific cast led again by Ian Richardson, To Play the King maintains the high standard set by House of Cards.

The Final Cut, the last installment of the trilogy, strikes a more somber note than its predecessors. Urquhart has almost overtaken Margaret Thatcher to become Britain's longest serving postwar leader, but the public is tiring of him and there are rumblings of dissent in the Conservative Party. Urquhart and his wife plot to secure both their place in history and their financial future. Once again, writer Andrew Davies has created a satire to relish, one that confirms all of our doubts about the motives of politicians. Ian Richardson's wonderful performance--filled with sly asides and winks to the camera--makes Francis Urquhart as fascinating as he is wicked, and we find ourselves rooting for this terrible man. The world would certainly be a duller place without him. --Simon Leake

Description

Ian Richardson (From Hell, M. Butterfly) leads an all star cast in this malevolent satire of greed, corruption and ambition in the highest realms of government. As Machiavellian monster Francis Urquhart, he schemes and backstabs his way to the top until he is standing on a pile of broken promises, betrayals and the bodies of those who oppose him. Every step of the way, Urquhart lays out his plans with horrifying wit and venomous charm. But the ranks of his enemies are growing, and they intend to bring him down, whatever the price. Brilliantly adapted by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary), from Michael Dobbs's best-selling novel, this satirical trilogy took home a primetime Emmy, a Peabody, two BAFTAs and a Broadcasting Press Guild Award.

Customer Reviews:

House of Cards trilogy.......2007-06-28

The late Ian Richardson plays a charming,suave,gentlemanly snake-in-the-grass....in fact he elevates it to high art.
It is like a modern "Richard III" with all the murder and intrigue that goes with it.Nice to know the USofA hasn't cornered the market on scoundrels in politics.

A great trilogy! You MUST have it!.......2007-06-13

If you like quality stories (like you would see on the BBC) and you like to think and you enjoy a evil villan, this one is for you! The main character is so refined and innocent looking but also so evil - LOVE IT! GET THIS!

A 10+.......2007-05-15

Saw this production when first shown and was so thrilled that it was available on DVD. Still the VERY BEST PRODUCTION EVER MADE. I had forgotten the ending and some of the intrigues so it was like seeing it anew and as thrilling as the first. If you don't like this one, can't imagine anything you might like.

House of Cards Trilogy.......2007-05-14

Excellent. Acting superb. Story line superb. I highly recommend. Very much in tune with what is going on in the real world.

A spellbinding tale of despondancy.......2007-04-27

This whole trilogy reads to me as a tale of despondency among the political classes in Britain. In the first act, "House of Cards", the Conservative, but still somewhat moderate, Prime Minister, get railroaded by his total over trusting of FU, or as Ronald Reagan would call it, trusting without verifying. In the second act, "To Play the King", as FU crushes the British welfare state, the King and the opposition leaders enter the political arena with high hopes, only to be dashed by the simple fact that the game is fixed in favor of Urquhart from the very beginning. In these two acts, no one in a position of real power is ever killed -- just whichever members of the lower classes who happens to come in FU's way. In the last act, "The Final Cut", it would appear that Urquhart's various crimes may have finally caught up with him-- his crimes as a solider in Cyprus, his crimes during the previous two acts, and his reckless war, again in Cyprus, as PM -- but the game is still rigged, as FU's wife and chief assistant plan a merciless assassination of Urquhart, preventing him from facing courtroom justice. The only possible hope left for the country is Corder's apparent decision to let the appropriately named Tom Makepeace be Prime Minister. This series is so wonderfully depressing and it rings unbearably true.

A minor note: For those of you with region-free and PAL compatible DVD players, the Region 2 edition of this set, available at Amazon.co.uk, is preferred, as it apparently has cast & crew commentary on some of the episodes.

Average customer rating:

Would have been good except for the ending
House of Cards
Life's Mysteries

House of Cards
Starring: John Bennes , Michael Horse , Tommy Lee Jones , Joaquin Martinez , and Asha Menina
Director: Michael Lessac
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006FFRSO
Release Date: 2005-01-18

Product Description

KATHLEEN TURNER (The War of the Roses and Romancing the Stone) and TOMMY LEE JONES (The Fugitive and JFK) star in this powerful story of a mother's devotion that will open your mind and touch your heart.

When Ruth Matthews (Turner) finds that her young daughter has withdrawn from reality, she and a well-meaning doctor (Jones) struggle to come to the aid of the child. But when conventional science appears unable to reach the little girl, Ruth embarks on a journey within herself to unlock the mysteries that hold her daughter captive in this passionate and heartrending tale of a mother's love and a family's determination to heal.

System Requirements:

Running Time 92 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Would have been good except for the ending.......2007-03-24

I won't give the details but the movie starts out rather strong. Asha Menina, who plays "Sally" out-acted all of her more famous adult counterparts -- and a site listed her as being 8 at the time!!! Oddly this is her only credited movie/tv appearance. My wife and I were like "Wow...she can act". However, just as the plot thickens and the movie is getting really good...it ends...with a nice wrapped up in a bow total resolution practically ex deus machina style ending... My wife, teenager and I all looked at each other in disbelief like "that's it?". Other reviewers wondered if the movie was messed with a bit much in post-production. There is probably good reason for that.

House of Cards.......2007-01-13

I found the Story-Line very captivating. Kathleen Turner protraid her character as a Mother coming to grips with a problem "out-of-the-blue" very convincingly.
I could not stop watching.

Life's Mysteries.......2006-03-22

This is an excellent movie for the whole family. It features Kathleen Turner in a mature role and Tommy Lee Jones in a more serious (Less action-figure) role. It deals with loss, grief and how it affects each of us differently. It also shows one family's strength in overcoming their loss in a very unique and intriguing way. I highly recommend this movie to everyone.

House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 1 - House of Cards

Average customer rating:

To Be Prime Minister
Great British Drama
House of Cards Trilogy
Quality
hatchet job

House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 1 - House of Cards
Starring: Ian Richardson , Susannah Harker , Miles Anderson , David Lyon , and Malcolm Tierney
Director: Paul Seed
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009MGGP
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Amazon.com

Connoisseurs of political chicanery will relish House of Cards, the mordantly funny story of Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson), a British politician with his eye on the top job. Urquhart is the chief whip of the Conservative Party and his job is to maintain party discipline, or, as he likes to say, "put a bit of stick about." This means that he has intimate knowledge of his colleagues' foibles, knowledge that he uses to further his own political ambitions. Aided by his equally ruthless wife and drawing on a network of accomplices, Urquhart manufactures a crisis that forces the prime minister to resign. He then sets out to discredit each of his rivals for the party leadership, clearing the way for a rapid and apparently inevitable rise to power. The only possible flaw in Urquhart's master plan is his affair with Mattie Storin, a young journalist who is drawn into his web when he decides she might prove useful.

Although it is strongly cast throughout, House of Cards belongs to Ian Richardson. Without his perfectly balanced performance, Urquhart might have become no more than a two-dimensional villain, but Richardson finds exactly the right tone to make his character as attractive as he is wicked. Like his illustrious predecessor Richard III (House of Cards is filled with references to Shakespearean villains), Francis Urquhart is an irresistible bad guy with a nice line in witty asides to the audience. Even when he is calmly committing murder Urquhart is so charming, so much more clever than his rivals, that it's impossible not to root for him. Thanks to Richardson, and a superb script by Andrew Davies, this brilliant political satire is sure to delight anyone who has wondered what might be going on in the darker corners of our democratic institutions. --Simon Leake

Description

Ian Richardson (From Hell, M. Butterfly) leads an all star cast in this malevolent satire of greed, corruption and ambition in the highest realms of government. As Machiavellian monster Francis Urquhart, he schemes and backstabs his way to the top until he is standing on a pile of broken promises, betrayals and the bodies of those who oppose him. Every step of the way, Urquhart lays out his plans with horrifying wit and venomous charm. But the ranks of his enemies are growing, and they intend to bring him down, whatever the price. Every step of the way, Urquhart lays out his plans with horrifying wit and venomous charm. But the ranks of his enemies are growing, and they intend to bring him down, whatever the price. Brilliantly adapted by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary), from Michael Dobbs's best-selling novel, this satirical trilogy took home a primetime Emmy, a Peabody, two BAFTAs and a Broadcasting Press Guild Award.

Customer Reviews:

To Be Prime Minister.......2007-01-30

Francis Urquart is Chief Wip when Maggie Thatcher ends her reign. Francis has been happy with his position and the new Prime Minister has premised a posting. But when the promise proves empty, Francis begins to see his wife's point that he is the most qualified for the position. Not only qualified, but devious enough to secure the position while appearing to be completely loyal.

We then follow Francis as he schemes his way through British politics, the press and his acquaintances. Look for all of the transition scenes showing rats pawing around London. But as cold and calculating as Francis is, he manages to get touched by a young journalist. Will he manage to pull off his secret coup without being found out? Ah, that is left for the viewer.

If Francis succeeds or not is minor. This black comedy is about the doing and not the final goal. It is a voyage and one that is as entertaining as any conceived. The cast is superb and the acting impeccable. While the Parliamentary proceeding has a basis in fact one can only hope that the behind-the-scenes reality not as it is portrayed here. Lovers of black comedy with love this one as Francis Urquart is that wonderful achievement, a villain you love to hate and hate to love. You want him to succeed and fail at the same time. Check it out.

Great British Drama.......2006-07-09

I bought the VHS (cheaper) and just finished viewing this British Drama. It was very good, a different story line and I just ordered the other two tapes in this trilogy. If you enjoy British Drama & Masterpiece Theater, you will enjoy this one. I don't want to give away the ending but I am eager to see the next two. Recommend this very highly, but you must enjoy the British drama, as it is a little different than the ones in the US.

House of Cards Trilogy.......2006-06-30

What a great set! This set made me an Ian Richardson fan. Everything about these shows is wonderful. Plot twists...Character development...Cinematography...all of it. Ian Richardson's character is utterly cold-blooded, relentless and ruthless. And, he is clever. I highly recommend this series.

Quality.......2006-02-06

One of the best miniseries of the 90's is as relevent today as it was then. The BC does what it does best, namely qulity drama with great actors. This tale of political intrigue is well worth watching.

hatchet job .......2005-08-03

The House of Cards is brilliant. What a shame some inept editor cut out many of the best parts in this version. For what? Are you in a hurry when you're watching great performances? GIVE US THE WHOLE THING!

Charlie Rose with Richard Serra (August 29, 2002)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Richard Serra (August 29, 2002)

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Description

A conversation with artist Richard Serra about his art, filmed at the Gagosian Gallery.

House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 2 - To Play the King

Average customer rating:

Absolutely Brilliant
Fantastic Series
The Best from the Brits
Top-Notch Acting, A Must See Production
Amazing dialogue heals plot wounds

House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 2 - To Play the King
Starring: Ian Richardson , Michael Kitchen , Kitty Aldridge , Colin Jeavons , and Diane Fletcher
Director: Paul Seed
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ASIN: B00009MGGZ
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Amazon.com

In To Play the King, the second installment of this deliciously wicked political satire, Francis Urquhart (who rose to power in House of Cards) appears to have everything he wants. He is the prime minister, he has no immediate rivals, and everyone who knows of his crimes is either on his side or dead. But a new challenge arises when the queen dies and the new king (Michael Kitchen doing a perfect Prince Charles) proves to be a thorn in Urquhart's side.

The king is troubled by the side effects of the prime minister's policies: homelessness, poverty, and an ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. When he criticizes Urquhart in public, it becomes clear that the king must be dealt with, and quickly. Francis Urquhart may be a staunch defender of the monarchy as a concept, but an individual sovereign is fair game if he proves to be a threat. A fat princess, the king's ex-wife, scandal-mongering newspapermen, and a kidnapping all play their part when Urquhart sets his plan in motion, but somebody very close to the prime minister has information that could destroy him.

With an Andrew Davies script that pokes fun at British politics and the antics of the royal family as well as a terrific cast led again by Ian Richardson, To Play the King maintains the high standard set by House of Cards. In Francis Urquhart, Davies and Richardson have created one of the screen's greatest villains, and his brazen scheming is a delight to watch. --Simon Leake

Description

Ian Richardson (From Hell, M. Butterfly) returns as villainous statesman Francis Urquhart in this acclaimed sequel to the Masterpiece Theater thriller House of Cards. The sardonic statesman's Machiavellian schemes have brought him to the pinnacle of government, but at the moment of his triumph, an idealistic and determined young King stands in his way. How far will Urquhart go to maintain his grip on his growing power? As he threatens to expose a royal scandal, he seems unstoppable, but someone out there knows the secret that could bring him down. Brilliantly adapted by Andrew Davies (The Tailor of Panama, Bridget Jones's Diary), from Michael Dobbs's best-selling novel, this satirical trilogy took home a primetime Emmy, a Peabody, two BAFTAs and a Writers' Guild Award.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely Brilliant.......2006-09-04

This is the best of the three- the first two are great, the third is to be missed. The viewer is drawn into the villainy of an evil PM with Shakespeareian ease and expertise. I disagree with a comment of a prior reviewer that there is "no redeeming social value." In fact, the point - power corrupts, often irredeemably so- is probably too obvious to mention. Any failure of the subplots to tie together completely at the end is far outweighed by the brilliantly protrayed spectacle of evil.

Fantastic Series.......2005-07-19

Ian Richardson is an absolute dynamo as Francis Urquehart, a proud and ruthless politician who puts Macbeth to shame in the ambitions department. The humor is witty and biting, and the show is riveting from start to finish. And Richardson is so convincing as the vile Urquehart that you just cant help rooting for him.

The Best from the Brits.......2003-02-18

To enjoy this series, you need to like subtle, stabbing humor, a phenomenal cast, unique camera perspectives, and a great script. I saw this series when it first aired (more years ago than I care to remember!) and never forgot it. Now my whole family is hooked too, and we re-watch every few months just because it is so incredibly well done. I love the way the cast plays to each other, and it seems as though they chose the perfect person for each role. I just wish the BBC would release it on DVD before my tapes fail!

Top-Notch Acting, A Must See Production.......2001-07-28

This is the second part of the "House of Cards" trilogy by Michael Dobbs and the continuing story of Francis Urquhart who, now Prime Minister, is engaged in a political struggle with the newly crowned king, a thinly disguised version of Prince Charles, and in a romantic liaison with a woman whom his wife chose for him and who is almost his equal in cold-bloodedness though not in utter and absolute villainy. In this second work we are no longer taken in by the superficial charm of Urquhart. His cleverness has given way to brutality, rage and deceit, and he has lost our sympathy. We look with a certain coldness even on his moments of remorse and hauntings of conscience. He begins, for all his political triumphs, to show his essential weakness, and his wife is now emerging as the strength of their partnership. The work is well worth seeing despite some weakness of plot and is fascinating because of the unusual conflict between HRH and the PM though most of all because of the continued stupendous acting of Ian Richardson. It is, however, not quite up to the same level as "House of Cards," the first part of the trilogy.

Amazing dialogue heals plot wounds.......2000-06-20

Second in a trilogy, TO PLAY THE KING continues the story from HOUSE OF CARDS and lays vital groundwork for THE FINAL CUT, but it lacks the cohesion of those other entrants into this series. One of TPTK's subplots-that of the King's newly-out homosexual press secretary-is a well-written, well-acted part of the story, but it just fizzles uselessly at the end, having had little impact.. Likewise, other plots which seem dreadfully important when introduced simply disappear. We're told, for instance, that the publication of the secrets of the King's sister will assuredly bring down the monarchy. Urquart orders this publication, yet the monarchy does not fall. Why? We're not told. Worse, the main plot-that of a confrontation between elected prime minister and hereditary monarch-- is itself resolved in ways that aren't even shown on-screen.

This is not to say that TO PLAY THE KING is uninteresting or in any way unwatchable. The acting is phenomenal, the dialogue sparkling, and the conclusions bold. The battle between Francis Urquart and the King of England is mesmerizing stuff. But this is clearly not the best entrant in the series, perhaps because it's hard to write about what hasn't happened in modern times. With the exception of love, there has been no issue which has publicly separated a British monarch from his Prime Minister in the twentieth century, so the film is largely theoretical. Oddly, the film's denouement really closes out the two main subplots, not the main storyline. Consequently, we're left wondering why exactly the chosen ending is happening.

Description

When Ruth Matthews finds that her young daughter has withdrawn from reality, she and a well-meaning doctor struggle to come to the aid of the child. But when conventional science appears unable to reach the little girl, Ruth embarks on a journey within herself to unlock the mysteries that hold her daughter captive in this passionate and heartrending tale of a mother's love - and a family's determination to heal. Kathleen Turner, Tommy Lee Jones

Customer Reviews:

Good Premise, but a bit hard to understand mechanics........2007-06-20

I would say that the basics of this movie is quite good, but the mechanics of it left both my wife and me puzzled. Here, we have a little girl who not only recently lost her father, but was moved from the southern Mexican she knew back to the U.S. to a life that was strange to her. So, she withdrew into herself. To reach anyone like that, indeed to reach anyone who needs help, one must be able to reach out them on their level and within their capacity. In this case, that of supposed autism, the mother had to learn to think as an autistic child. Only then would she be able to reach her hurting daughter. The movie holds one's interest, even if you don't understand the means used by the mother to reach her daughter to help her break through her grieving to start to heal.

Juxtaposition of Mayan mythology and modern medicine.......2006-03-24

This is not a movie about autism. Let it go.

**Spoilers!**
This is a movie about a little girl who grows up around Mayan tradition, and who is taken away from that back to the States when her father is killed. A lot of the story takes place in memories, visions and dreams, so it only makes "sense" in the context of the Mayan teachings the little girl grew up with. It doesn't translate well to the late 20th Century USA - that's the whole point of the movie. It works in spite of the fact that none of the adults around this little girl have a clue what is happening, even though it's spelled out on the tapes of Sally and the old Mayan man.

She isn't autistic - she's in a trance, on a vision quest. When she and her mother work out the grief, she comes out of it. That's a natural result of such a journey. The ending is beautiful and poetic. The problem is that if you aren't familiar with shamanic traditions, or you don't pay close attention to what the child is hearing and seeing, you won't know what's happening. No one sums it up, and the people around the little girl never pick up on the symbols involved in her healing - cards, The Tower, The Moon- nor do they understand the process they've just gone through.

The child knew enough to heal herself in spite of the adults around her, and her mother facilitates this by following her own intuition in reaching the girl. It's a powerful story - highly recommended.

This is not a movie about Autism.......2005-01-09

This is a about a child disturbed by the death of her father and who is told that she should not cry about it and also that her father is in the moon, a fantasy created in the mind of the child trying to thereafter trying to reach him there. One reviewer thought it was about autism, which it was not. It seems that autism has become a generalization for anything people don't understand. The mother of the child doesn't accept the conventional methods of psychology and uses her own intelligence to "decode" the puzzle of the child's disturbance and succeeds to help her to come out of her fantasy of her father being on the moon where he went after he died. It is a wonderful portrayal of a mother who won't give up and sets out to look at her daughter's disturbance in a new light, using what could be called modern shamanism to recreate the dilemma where the child can see the futility of her actually being able to get to the moon to see her father. This movie is a must see!

LOOKING FOR COPY TO BUY...IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE.......2004-12-19

Deal Amazon shoppers, my name is Alicia and just recently i have enjoyed the pleasure of ordering online feeling secure about my purchases. As you may know from my title, I am in the process of looking for an availiable copy of House of Cards with Tommy Lee Jones. I have scalled all across Ontario for such product and have had no liuck.. I can't even find a copy to rent...Montreal was the cloest and me being from Niagara Falls i don't see that as any use.
I know that this is spose to be used for giving reviews and i don't even know how often people actually read these things but i'm hopeing that some one out there can help me out.
My email address is amartin_717@hotmail.com and i thank you for you time
It's been about 8 years since i saw the movie, but it just happens to be one of the movies that stick in your head. I can only remeber clips of it but i know that it was good consedering i want to see it again 8 years later
If you are finish reading my novel and think you can help me out please contact me
Thanks and have a safe Holiday

The House of Cards fell down quickly.......2004-10-20

I was confused from the start with House of Cards. Kathleen Turner stars as the widowed parent Ruth Matthews to six year-old Sally and her older brother Michael. They are somewhere in Mexico preparing to return home to North Carolina after a three year absence.

The father, Alex died while they were in Mexico while on an archealogical dig of Mayan ruins. They stayed awhile longer in Mexico after the accident that Ruth had witnessed. I did not connect with the child actress Asha Menina and felt the child was a bit off before they even arrived back in the States. The viewer was aware of her inner thoughts through her whisperings in her mind and she spoke to three weird looking dolls that were spooky. The times that House of Cards ventured into these eerie scenes reminded me of a young Sissie Spacek in Carrie, and I did not want the movie to turn in that direction.

The story was interesting, but failed on so many levels and left viewer not sure what was reality and fantasy and why autism was even suggested. Although the subject was of interest to me, this did contain poor casting choices and not enough character development.

There was such limited information concerning the father and his death and no family discussions about memories. This is where development lacked and could have been explored further. I could not even form an opinion on the father since flashbacks only showed a flashlight and legs falling down.

Ruth had a fear of heights, but it was not explained what led to this. She also did not want Sally and Michael to cry over the death of their father. I think the reason why I was not drawn to the character of Sally is the way she was presented. It was mentioned that she knew three languages, and you heard her muttering to herself in these, but they did not portray her favorably before she withdrew into herself once they were back home.

The next adult we meet is a neighbor played by Park Overall, the only perfectly suited actor in a role in House of Cards. I would have rather seen the mother portrayed by one of the actresses who starred in Designing Women, because Kathleen Turner's accent just bugs me too much.

Their house was very large with a lot of land and we only ever saw the kitchen and Sally's bedroom along with the porch. It made no sense for Sally to be sleeping in the attic with access to a window, especially after several incidents where she got out and climbed on the roof.

The first few scenes upon their arrival back home showed Sally in this crouching position, she resembled a china doll when was picked up and returned to the same form. I thought it was very weird until they showed her mother in the same position a few times. Nothing really made sense in House of Cards and many loose ends were left hanging for this viewer.

I felt the scenes where they showed students working at the school with therapists was decent, although they did push in the wrong direction when trying to get an echolaic child to ask for water, when clearly the child wanted to drink. I do not agree with the concept of withholding something from a child when they cannot communicate that need.

I did choose to view House of Cards because of the mention of autistic traits, and glad that the cover of the video did not mention autism since that was not the basis of the character or show. The parent/child bond lacked structure, was hard to follow that a child missed a parent so much when there were no flashbacks hinting to a relationship.

House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 3 - The Final Cut

Average customer rating:

A Terrible Disappointment
Not as good as first two, but still incredible
Not impressed
Oops, they did it again!
Noooooooooo! It can't be over!

House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 3 - The Final Cut
Starring: Ian Richardson , Erika Hoffman , Lynne Verrall , Glyn Grain , and John Rowe
Director: Mike Vardy
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 2 - To Play the King
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ASIN: B00009MGH1
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Amazon.com

The final installment of the House of Cards trilogy strikes a more somber note than its predecessors. Francis Urquhart--prime minister and murderer--has almost overtaken Margaret Thatcher to become Britain's longest serving postwar leader, but the public is tiring of him and there are rumblings of dissent in the Conservative Party. When the prime minister's bullying goes too far, his foreign secretary, Tom Makepeace, resigns and prepares to challenge for the leadership.

Urquhart and his wife (who makes Lady Macbeth look benign) plot to secure both their place in history and their financial future. An opportunity presents itself in the shape of the Cyprus Agreement: a treaty between the Greek and Turkish inhabitants of that island. The Urquharts learn that there are massive oil deposits along a disputed sea boundary, and a Turkish businessman promises them a large "consultancy fee" if the oil ends up on his side of the border. However, Urquhart has other ties to Cyprus, because it was there (as a young soldier in the '50s) that he killed two Greeks. If this is uncovered, Urquhart will be finished. Attacked from all sides, it looks like there's no escape, but as he watches the Thatcher Memorial taking shape on the lawn outside his office, Urquhart vows to triumph again. With the help of his wife, the shadowy Commander Cawdor, and an ambitious member of Parliament who had an affair with Tom Makepeace, he might yet find a way to succeed.

Once again, writer Andrew Davies has created a satire to relish, one that confirms all of our doubts about the motives of politicians. Ian Richardson's wonderful performance--filled with sly asides and winks to the camera--makes Francis Urquhart as fascinating as he is wicked, and we find ourselves rooting for this terrible man. The world would certainly be a duller place without him. --Simon Leake

Description

Ian Richardson (From Hell, M. Butterfly) returns as malevolent statesman Francis Urquhart in this acclaimed finale to the Masterpiece Theater trilogy that began with House of Cards and continued in To Play the King. Now Prime Minister, and nearing the end of his term, Urquhart plans to let international events help him to a luxurious retirement. But he finds himself caught in someone else's power play, and for the first time he is unable to see a way out. Will he outwit his enemies one last time, or will his long career end in disgrace and defeat? Brilliantly adapted by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary), from Michael Dobbs's best-selling novel, this satirical trilogy took home a primetime Emmy, a Peabody, two BAFTAs and a Writers' Guild Award.

Customer Reviews:

A Terrible Disappointment.......2006-09-04

Especially in comparison to the brilliance of the first two installments, this was a bitter disappointment. Rumor has it that those involved would only do the third installment if the evil king received his come-uppance, and he does here, in an unsatisfactory manner, unbefitting the evil he once wrought. It's hard to imagine that a grown man who fed rat poison to an inconvenient party functionary, threw a lover off the top of the House of Commons, and car bombed up another in front of her husband, would be tortured for a second by having killed a boy in (Cyprus civil) wartime. The motive force in this one strains credulity. Watch and enjoy the first two, but skip this one- it really does not conclude the career of F.U. as the same imagination that brought the first two installments to life would have,

Not as good as first two, but still incredible.......2005-07-19

Probably my least favorite installment of the Urquehart trilogy. This one was still absolutely riveting and fantastic, just not to the extent that the other two volumes where. However, it is still a must see.

Not impressed.......2005-01-04

I found that the last part of this brilliant series wansn't as good as the first two installments. To start with, Mr Urquhart (hence FU), seems to be less confiding to us as an audience and is seemingly not as devious as in the beginning of the series. He is more passive and less his brilliant, manipulative self, leading us to feel a slight pity that would have been unthinkable initially.

Another criticism would be the issue of the Cypriot graves in the "Final Cut". I thought it a bit silly that FU was having nightmares about his murdering of two young men, so long ago, when he was based as an officer on Cyprus. He never showed any sort of remorse before and then suddenly this is introduced. Further, I think that the young lady involved in investigating her uncles deaths gets far too big a role. She is nobody of any consequence and yet she gets complete access to the Prime Minister alone. Again, I found this silly and unbelievable and the whole story would have been better left out for the sake of more intelligent viewers.

Finally, the end wasn't particularly well wrapped up with the issue of the tape and the murder of the Cypriot father. What was that all about? Over all, I was not too impressed, although I conceed that the acting was up to its usual high standard - only the plot didn't live up to expectation.

Oops, they did it again!.......2002-03-16

Made major changes from the novel, that is--and for my mind made it that much stronger a screenplay(sorry to novelist Michael Dobbs,who was supposedly royally ticked at this adaptation).Ian Richardson is again brilliant as the Shakespeare-quoting politician/murderer/con man whom you love to hate, and the underrated Dianne Fletcher is equally good as the scheming Mrs. Urquhart(a good example of the old saying that the female of the species is often more deadly!). In strong supporting roles, look for Isla Blair and Paul Freeman as an ambitious aide to FU and a would-be Prime Minister, respectively--this relationship has some parallels to the highly political union of the Urquharts.

Noooooooooo! It can't be over!.......2002-01-16

The third and final chapter in the life and times of that charming psychopath, Prime Minister Francis Urquhart. The end of his career is drawing nigh, and he's haunted by ghosts (not only Mattie Storin who perished so sadly in the first installment, but also a pair of young Cypriot soldies during Francis' military service). But he musters his strength for one last battle for the leadership of the party. Can he solidify his place in British history? F.U. has proved that he can do whatever he sets his mind to.

Average customer rating:

A Haunting in the Northern Maine Woods

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Product Description

Dvd about the haunting happening in northern Maine. Includes actual case pictures and case video's showing objects being moved by an un-seen force!

House of Cards [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

Average customer rating:

House of Cards [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Michael Lessac
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FTNH6K

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), SYNOPSIS: Michael Lessac's lugubrious House of Cards, women's intuition beats out psychology in the battle against autism. The story begins in Mexico, where a little girl named Sally Matthews (Asha Menina) lives with her parents, scientists studying ancient ruins. When her father falls to his death, Sally is comforted by a Mayan mystic that tells Sally her father has gone to the moon. When Sally, her mother Ruth (Kathleen Turner), and her brother Michael (Shiloh Strong) return home to North Carolina, Sally begins to retreat into autism. She first stares silently at the night sky. Then she shrieks when Ruth wears a baseball cap the wrong way. Finally she develops the habit of scaling the roof of the house and other tall structures. This makes Ruth realize that there is something seriously wrong, and she takes her to see Dr. Jacob Beerlander, a psychiatrist who is an expert in autism. As Sally retreats more and more into herself, Beerlander and Ruth clash over the scientific approach versus the intuition of a mother.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Scene Access,

Average customer rating:

Good Premise, but a bit hard to understand mechanics.
Juxtaposition of Mayan mythology and modern medicine
This is not a movie about Autism
LOOKING FOR COPY TO BUY...IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE
The House of Cards fell down quickly

House of Cards [Region 2]
Starring: Kathleen Turner , Tommy Lee Jones , Asha Menina , Shiloh Strong , and Esther Rolle
Director: Michael Lessac
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005RISL

Customer Reviews:

Good Premise, but a bit hard to understand mechanics........2007-06-20

Juxtaposition of Mayan mythology and modern medicine.......2006-03-24

This is not a movie about Autism.......2005-01-09

LOOKING FOR COPY TO BUY...IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE.......2004-12-19

The House of Cards fell down quickly.......2004-10-20

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